Page 6 - Aanbevelingen om de integriteit

IV. CORRUPTION PREVENTION IN CENTRAL GOVERNMENTS (TOP EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS)

System of government and top executive functions

System of government

15. The Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary democracy. The King is the
Head of State and the Prime Minister (PM) is the Head of the Government (Council of Ministers,
Cabinet). Formally the government consists of the King and the ministers and state secretaries, but in
reality it is the PM/ministers/state secretaries, and not the King, who are responsible for the acts of
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the government , including the running of the day-to-day governmental affairs and the decision-
making.

16. The Cabinet is accountable to Parliament, which is elected every four years. The Cabinet as
well as the individual ministers/state secretaries stay in power as long as they enjoy the confidence
of Parliament. The “rule of confidence” is one of the most important and crucial government
principles in the Netherlands, although it is not laid down in the Constitution or law. By expressing
lack of confidence, Parliament can force a cabinet (or an individual minister or secretary of state) to
resign.

17. The King does not attend the Council of Ministers’ meetings but he delivers the annual
“speech from the throne” in which the government, through the King, outlines government policy for
the next budgetary year to Parliament. The King signs all Acts of Parliament and Royal Decrees,
including the ones on appointment and dismissal of high ranking officials, but the Prime Minister,
relevant ministers or state secretaries initiate and take responsibility for them. The King represents
the Kingdom of the Netherlands at home and especially abroad, which is a ceremonial function. At
no point does the King exercise discretionary powers in an executive capacity.

18. As agreed by GRECO, a head of State would be covered by the 5th evaluation round under
“central governments (top executive functions)” when s/he actively participates on a regular basis in
the development and/or the execution of governmental functions, or advises the government on
such functions. These may include determining and implementing policies, enforcing laws, proposing
and/or implementing legislation, adopting and implementing by-laws/normative decrees, taking
decisions on government expenditure, taking decisions on the appointment of individuals to top
executive functions.

19. The GET notes that the Head of State in the Netherlands does not actively participate on a
regular basis in the development and/or execution of governmental functions. The role of the King is
clearly of a representative and ceremonial nature and the few links to the executive branch that exist
are limited to ceremonial/formal decisions and in these situations the King is clearly to be guided by
the government, within the constraints set by the Constitution, laws and precedents. This prevents
the King from exercising discretionary powers in an executive capacity. It follows that the Head of
State in the Netherlands does not fall within the category of “persons who are entrusted with top
executive functions” (PTEFs) which is covered by the current Evaluation Round.

Status and remuneration of persons with top executive functions

20. A new government (Cabinet or Council of Ministers) is formed after parliamentary elections
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following a coalition negotiation process through which an agreement is to be reached between the

9 Article 42 of the Constitution. Ministerial responsibility, linked to royal inviolability, was introduced in 1848.
10 Because of the strict proportional voting system of the Netherlands, no single party has ever won an absolute majority in
the House of Representatives. At least two parties have always been needed in order to form a majority coalition. This
usually leads to complicated and lengthy negotiations. At the end of the formation, the new Prime Minister reports to the
House of Representatives on the formation process.

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